At first glance, chemistry and English have little in common. Yet two courses from these disciplines are now intertwined, thanks to a rare tome acquired in 2014 by Watzek Library’s Special Collections: an illuminated 15th-century book of hours.

Health is an issue that impacts us all, yet many struggle to receive adequate health care. In hopes of better understanding these inequities, the 15th Annual Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies—titled Bitter Pills: Race, Health, and Medicine—focuses on the racialized dimensions of health, highlighting the voices of communities of color. Running November 7 through November 9, the symposium is free and open to the public.

Two Lewis & Clark seniors have crafted a new Special Collections exhibit to present religious texts spanning 500 years. The students used an interdisciplinary approach to understand the impact that annotation and translation have had on how societies view and engage with Christianity. The final exhibit showcases their efforts in a detailed and nuanced analysis of how religious materials have influenced broader participation.

Watzek Library’s Special Collections has been awarded a $30,100 competitive grant in support of a five-year project to interview members of Portland’s Vietnamese community, collecting oral histories that will document the region’s complex and changing urban landscape.

The Horror of Normalcy: Katherine Dunn, Geek Love, and Cult Literature opens to the public April 4. This exhibition provides a first look at the literary archive of the cult Portland author, who arranged to bequeath her collection to Lewis & Clark before her death in 2016.

The Washington Posttells the story of how a student’s curiosity, and some librarian detective work, uncovered the unique and peculiar history of a 400-year old Geneva Bible. The tome is part of Watzek Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

William Stafford (1914–93) achieved international acclaim as the author of dozens of volumes of poetry, winner of a National Book Award, consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, and Oregon Poet Laureate. He also taught at Lewis & Clark for 30 years. And, thanks to the Stafford family, we hold his literary archives.

Images

Blurbs

The Visual Resources Center at Lewis & Clark links images and ideas through the lens of a liberal arts college. Go▶

Doug Erickson, head of Special Collections and college archivist, blogs mines the Internet for interesting articles about the book world to present a glimpse into the literary happenings of society. Go▶